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Wind as art

April 20, 2012

Wind as art

Members of the American Association of State Climatologists shared this
web site recently. It depicts near real-time wind patterns across the
continental USA, showing the animated streamlines (trajectory and
velocity) in a manner that is quite artistic. You need the latest
Chrome browser to view it. The data come from NOAA's National Digital
Forecast Database. Give it a try.

Dew point records set, along with precipitation and snowfall records, April 15-16

Just
ahead of the rain and thunderstorms over April 15th strong southeast
winds brought in warm, moist air to southern Minnesota, setting new high
dewpoint records for the date. MSP tied a record from 1976 with a late
afternoon dewpoint of 61 degrees F, while preliminary data indicate a
new dewpoint record of 63 degrees F at Fairmont and Mankato. In
addition a new dewpoint record of 64 degrees F was set at New Ulm.
These values occurred just ahead of the severe thunderstorms, hail,
funnel clouds, tornadoes, and strong winds which were reported last
Sunday.

In the far north, strong winds (50-60 mph) and
significant amounts of snow were reported, with many roads closed, power
outages, and numerous accidents. Several observers reported new daily
record snowfall amounts for April 16th, including: Babbitt with 5
inches; Tower with 6.3 inches; Cook, Hibbing, and Bigfork with 8.0
inches; Kabetogama had a record 9.4 inches; and Orr and Chisholm
received a whooping record 11 inches.

Weekly Weather Potpourri

NOAA-Climate Prediction Center released new seasonal outlooks on Thursday
this week. They show that for the May, June, and July period Minnesota
has equal chances of being warmer or colder than normal, and equal
chances of being wetter or drier than normal. The drought-stricken
areas of southern and central Minnesota are expected to see some slight
improvement through July 31st. You can read more here.

With Earth Day coming up this weekend (April 22) and many celebrations
and events planned for next week, NOAA features a number of ways to
acknowledge environmental stewardship and to get involved. You can find
a number of features and programs at their web site. They show a map
which depicts up to 75 Earth Day events going on across the nation.

Following a record-setting April last year (2011) when there were 758
tornado reports across the nation, the NOAA-Storm Prediction Center
shows 159 tornado reports so far this month. The vast majority occurred
on April 14th with 146 reports filed. So the rest of the month has been
rather quiet so far. Hopefully it will remain that way. Nevertheless
if you want to update yourself on severe weather safety please go to the
NOAA-National Weather Service Chanhassen web site and view the
materials there.

The United Kingdom Meteorological Office has chosen ShelterBox as its
designated charity for the past three years. They have supported
ShelterBox both with a financial commitment and a service commitment,
providing forecasts specific to community recovery efforts following
natural disasters around the world. The UK Met Office three-year
commitment will end this summer, but ShelterBox certainly is a charity
worth supporting. They deliver the essentials a family needs to survive
in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Each large, green ShelterBox
delivered to a disaster site is tailored to primary needs of families,
typically containing a disaster relief tent for an extended family,
blankets, water storage and filtration equipment, cooking utensils, a
stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital
items. You can learn more about ShelterBox at their web site.

A recent study from the University of Zurich documents that
Himalayan glaciers are not shrinking as rapidly as predicted by the
IPCC. However, they do continue to shrink and produce more glacial
lakes and create greater variability in the volume of some watersheds
that are relied upon by various cultures that occupy low-lying regions.
You can read more about this study here.

MPR listener question

With the significant snowfall amounts up north earlier this week, did
any observers reported above normal amounts for the 2011-1012 snow
season in Minnesota? It seems like everybody ended up short of average.

Answer:
Only a few observers have reported modestly above average total
snowfall for the 2011-2012 season. These observers are all in the
northeastern part of the state and include: 86.8 inches at Isabella
(Lake County); 75.3 inches at Kabetogama (St Louis County); 65.3 inches
at Orr (St Louis County); and 64.3 inches at Two Harbors (Lake County).

Twin Cities Almanac for April 20th

The average MSP high temperature for this date is 55 degrees F (plus or
minus 11 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 35
degrees F (plus or minus 9 degrees F standard deviation).

MSP Local Records for April 20th

MSP weather records for this date include: highest daily maximum
temperature of 84 degrees F in 2006; lowest daily maximum temperature of
33 degrees F in 1893 and 1928; lowest daily minimum temperature of 2 F
in 1962; highest daily minimum temperature of 61 F in 1941; record
precipitation of 0.94 inches in 1991; and record snowfall of 8.5 inches
in 1928. Snow depth was 5 inches on this date in 1962.

Average dew point for April 20th is 31 degrees F, with a maximum of 64 degrees F in 1941 and a minimum of -2 degrees F in 1950.

All-time state records for April 20th

The state record high temperature for this date is 96 degrees F at
Georgetown (Clay County) in 1980; the state record low temperature for
this date is 0 degrees F at Cloquet (Carlton County) in 1928. State
record precipitation for this date is 3.08 inches at Collegeville
(Stearns County) in 1893; and state record snowfall for this date is
18.0 inches at Fort Ripley (Crow Wing County) in 1893.

Past Weather Features

A strong spring storm hit the state on April 20, 1893 delivering
record-setting precipitation and snowfall amounts to many cities. Some
of the record precipitation/snowfall amounts included: 1.50 inches of
precipitation and 16 inches of snowfall at Cambridge; 1.40 inches of
precipitation and 14 inches of snowfall at Rochester; 1.63 inches of
precipitation and 14 inches of snowfall in downtown St Paul; and 1.80
inches of precipitation and 18 inches of snowfall at Fort Ripley. Many
observers reported 8 to 12 inches of snowfall from this storm, one of
the heaviest ever in the month of April.

Following a fresh
snowfall of several inches a record-setting Cold Wave prevailed on April
20, 1928. Many record-setting low temperatures were observed,
including 0 degrees F at Cloquet; 2 degrees F at Grand Rapids; 5 degrees
F at Lake Winnie; 6 degrees F at Leech Lake and Bemidji; and it was 19
degrees F as far south as New Ulm. Temperatures remained below freezing
all day at a number of locations.

April 19-21, 1970 brought heavy
snowfall to many parts of Minnesota, especially central and northern
cities. Strong winds up to 60 mph combined with the heavy snow to bring
down some power lines and telephone lines in northern Minnesota counties
causing numerous outages. Some communities reported a foot or more of
new snowfall, topped by 17 inches at Big Falls and 21 inches at
Kelliher.

The warmest April Heat Wave ever started on the 20th in
1980 and lasted 3 days. Many western Minnesota observers reached the 90
F mark, and some even reached 100 degrees F, the earliest date for such
a mark. Those reporting 100 degrees F included: Ada, Campbell,
Georgetown, Montevideo, Moorhead, Hawley (101 F a state record for the
month of April), Browns Valley, Argyle, and Hallock. Thankfully a
strong cold front collapsed temperatures into the 60s F by the 23rd.

Starting
about 8:15 pm on April 20, 1985 an F-3 tornado (winds 158-206 mph) made
its way 8 miles across the landscape in Pipestone and Murray Counties,
near Lake Wilson. It damage or destroyed 43 farms and injured two
people. Several livestock were reportedly killed as well.

Word of the Week: "Storm Scammers"

This term is used to refer to contractors who rush into communities
following natural disasters and approach those home and business owners
who have suffered loss with high pressure sales tactics to get them to
sign contracts for repair and restoration services, even before
insurance adjusters have had time to visit. Some states have taken
action against such practices. Provisions are allowed in many states
for home and business owners to cancel contracts that were signed
without proper disclosure or licensing. You can read more about this here.

Outlook

Most cloudy with chances for rain early in the weekend, some chance for
showers in the east continuing on Sunday, brighter and warmer on
elsewhere. Even more sun and warmer on Monday. Warming trend continues
into next week with some temperatures reaching the 70s F. Chances for
showers return on Wednesday and Thursday.